WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 20) – The California University of Pennsylvania baseball team scored a combined 26 runs in two games on Saturday afternoon while sweeping its season-opening doubleheader against Walsh (Ohio) by scores of 16-1 and 10-7 at CONSOL Energy Park.

With the victory, the Vulcans open the season at 2-0 overall. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers fall to 0-2 overall to begin their season.

In Game 1, senior center fielder Mick Fennell (Butler, Pa./Butler) led off the bottom of the first inning with a four-pitch walk before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. After a strikeout, sophomore designated hitter Chris Wastchak (Peters Twp., Pa./Peters Township) drove in Fennell with an RBI single down the left-field line, 1-0.

In the second, junior right fielder Bobby Thompson (Blairsville, Pa./Blairsville) lined a single up the middle and advanced to third on the next pitch by way of a double from sophomore shortstop Austin Logan (Beaver, Pa. / Beaver), putting runners on second and third with no outs. A pair of RBI ground-outs by Fennell and junior second baseman Danny McGrath (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) extended the lead to 3-0. Walsh cut into the lead by scoring an unearned run in the top of the fourth before Cal U answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs, highlighted by an RBI triple from Fennell, which was the 21st of his career – the most in school history. Cal U finished the game scoring four and seven runs, respectively, in the fifth and sixth innings to capture a 16-1 victory.

The Vulcans totaled 10 hits in the win with Fennell and Wastchak going a combined 5-for-8 with four RBI, while freshman Kristian Webb (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) totaled three RBI in his college debut. Senior pitcher Jack Dennis (Toronto, Ontario/Birchmount Park) earned the win after striking out five over 6.0 innings, while scattering four hits and one run (unearned).

In Game 2, Cal U scored the opening run of the game on a solo home run in the bottom of the second by sophomore third baseman Levi Krause (East Berlin, Pa./Spring Grove), who took the ninth pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall. The Vulcans added seven runs over the next two innings, scoring three runs in the third and four runs in the fourth. A pair of RBI singles from McGrath and Wastchak was followed up by a RBI double from junior catcher Joe Yourgal (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) to cap off the scoring in the third inning.

The fourth inning featured back-to-back RBI doubles from Logan and Fennell, while Yourgal collected two more RBI with a single up the middle, opening up an 8-0 lead. The Cavaliers answered with seven runs in the top of the fifth, three of which came on a homer by center fielder Jason McPeek, to cut the deficit to 8-5 before adding two more runs to make it 8-7 heading in to the home half of the inning.

Cal U added an insurance run (unearned) in bottom of the fifth and a RBI single by Webb through the left side in the sixth inning ended the scoring and pushed the lead to 10-7.

Fennell went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while also picking up the win after allowing six runs (all earned) and eight hits over 4.0 innings. Sophomore Matt Carter (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) recorded the save after allowing only one hit and striking out two over 2.0 innings of relief. Cal U smacked 14 hits in the win with the Nos. 4-7 hitters of Yourgal, senior left fielder Jared Grove (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim), Krause and Webb went a combined 7-for-16 with five RBI. Five different Vulcans tallied a multi-hit game and five of the team's 14 hits were extra-base hits.

Cal U returns to action with another doubleheader against Walsh tomorrow, Sunday, February 21, at CONSOL Energy Park with first pitch set for 12 p.m.